The invention relates to a device for collecting chains, in particular coarse and heavy chains, such as anchor chains, in a manner suitable for storage and/or transport.
When manufacturing a heavy chain, the latter is usually collected in a disordered pile, either on the floor of the plant or in a large transport container, a railroad car or the like. Especially extremely long chains will cause problems of reloading, since the entire chain can only be lifted by means of lifting devices having an extremely high lifting capacity. Further, it is difficult to get a good hold on a disordered chain pile by means of lifting hooks, straps or other lifting means. Thus, in many cases, it may be necessary to feed the entire chain in a stretched condition during the reloading operation, thereby requiring special feeding means, which are time consuming, complicated and expensive.
The main object of the invention is to provide a device which permits simplified handling of a chain by way of collecting the same in an organized manner.